Oluyede Pledges Cooperation With Oyebanji, Commends His Peace Initiative After Election

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the recent Ekiti State governorship election, Dr. Wole Oluyede, has pledged his readiness to cooperate with Governor Biodun Oyebanji in the interest of the state’s development, while also commending the governor for promoting peace after the election.

Speaking on his post-election relationship with the governor, Oluyede said his commitment to the progress of Ekiti State transcends political differences, stressing that any individual entrusted with the leadership of the state deserves support aimed at advancing the welfare of the people.

According to him, cooperation with the governor is a matter of principle and responsibility as a citizen of Ekiti State.
“It is a matter of policy. As a citizen of Ekiti State, whoever becomes the governor of the state will have my full cooperation for the growth and development of Ekiti,” he stated.

In … election Press Conference held in Ado-Ekiti, Oluyede also praised Governor Oyebanji for personally reaching out to him after the election, describing the gesture as commendable and worthy of respect.

The PDP chieftain noted that elections in Nigeria are often characterized by tension and hostility, but expressed surprise and admiration when the governor called and later paid him a visit.

“In fairness, I must commend him. Usually, people turn elections into a war. I was surprised when he called me, and I have tremendous respect for that. He visited me, we talked, and all he requested was peace,” Oluyede said.

He added that he reassured the governor of his longstanding commitment to peace, while emphasizing that he would continue to uphold his principles and advocate for what he believes is right for the progress of Ekiti State.

“I reminded him that I am always for peace. But I am also a man of principles. I will do what I think is right for the growth of Ekiti,” he said.

Commenting on the poll, the PDP Candidate said “there are a lot of irregularities in the way it went. The elections involved a lot of irregularities from INEC officials. There was a lot of intimidation by security forces and the police.

There was a lot of negligence by people who were supposed to keep law and order. There was a lot of vote-buying that was evident. There were allegations that Beaver’s machines didn’t work the way they were supposed to work or were neglected and passed around.

“There were a lot of issues about ballot papers not being verified by Beavers or connected to Beavers. There are a lot of those things. There is actually video evidence of so many things going on.

“The security forces were not a force of keeping peace. It was definitely clear to everybody that there was a bias towards supporting the government and harassing the opposition. So all those things are there.

“But the process that we are on right now is really to review the elections. No, elections are meant to be won and lost. This is not my first time running for elections.

“And this time it is different. My main interest today really is, first of all, to thank the Ekiti people. I went around the state, they received me.

“One thing that was very obvious was that they were yearning for change. They wanted change. They came out.

“They supported me. And they really wanted to vote. The elections went in different ways. There were some that probably sold their votes. Because that is the way they think elections should go. That is their expectations from elections.

“And it is really mainly that they have been impoverished. They will take anything. And they actually assume that that is the only thing they are going to get for the next four years.

“So who will bring them in to sell their votes? That played a role. Then there were those that were intimidated, that really wanted to vote, that the ruling party and their agents harassed, otherwise assaulting them by backing them up, and stopping them from expressing their wishes. Those were their evidence of shame.

“And then there is the evidence of the negative votes. On the island, for example, they decided that these guys would not enter the war, or they would ignore them, and they would just hand over ballot papers to people who just voted. There are other cases, and there are video evidence of that, of people actually sharing money, and wearing APC logos of the day of elections, which is against the law.

“And they are openly sharing, and they are on record. And there were places where people were sharing and giving out voter’s cards on the day of the elections to be used. My interest, really, at this moment, is not really to do anything except to subject all of these evidences that we have into a process by experts to really advise us on how to maintain the sanctity of our elections, just for the sake of all of us.

“The reality of it is that this should not be about me, or about Mr. Oyebanji , It shouldn’t be about us, about the two major contestants. But it should be about Ekiti.”